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6Nov

A Girl Called Genghis Khan

Posted by: annettepimentel@gmail.com Categories: Review Uncategorized
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Cover of book shows silhouette of a girl's head in front of a rising sun.

I loved this lively book about a girl, supported by her family, who found a way to be active in a society that discouraged it. The story tells the inspiring true story of how a Pakistani family supported their daughter in masquerading as a boy so that she could have an active childhood.

Eventually, she gravitates toward playing squash. Even when her secret comes out, she persists in her commitment to practicing her craft.

It’s tricky to explain unfamiliar cultural mores to young readers, but Michelle Lord does a great job creating a scaffolding of explanation to support the story. I also loved the language she uses to describe how Maria is drawn to the action, speed, and fun of squash: “Swinging her racquet, she served. WA-POW. WHOOSH. WHACK.”

I loved the art and page design in the book, too. The text is placed on the page like a standard picture book, but the art uses graphic novel conventions–multiple panels per page, for example, and close-ups of eyes or other details. It gives each page an energetic and modern look.

The pages are also designed to showcase quotations from Maria that comment on the main text. It’s a great way to incorporate quotes without having to wrest the text to make them fit.

An inspiring book!

A Girl Called Genghis Khan: How Maria Toorpakai Wazir Pretended to be a Boy, Defied the Taliban, and Became a World Famous Squash Player, by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Shehzil Malik. (Sterling: 2019).

Picture of tree going out of book with words "Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2019"

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20Jun

Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail

Posted by: annettepimentel@gmail.com Categories: Review
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Cover of book shows Grandma Gatewood hikingGrandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail is a wonderful summer book. It’s about a gutsy grandma who in 1955 decided she’d like to be the first woman to hike the Appalachian Trail. So she did!

The back matter explains that the 1955 hike was actually her second attempt–the first time she tried she got lost and realized she was unprepared. So she went home, trained, and tried again. But the main text of the book focuses on the day-to-day of hiking the trail. We see her battling weather and bugs and, once, a bear. But, with wonderful picture book pacing, we also get glimpses of the gorgeous scenery that inspired her to keep going.

Jennifer Thermes, the author-illustrator, is a map-maker, and the illustrations include six full-spread maps–one of the entire trail (on the front endpapers), and five of smaller sections of the trail. The back endpapers are an illustrated timeline.

This book could be part of a set about everyday women and girls breaking athletic barriers. I’d add in Girl Running (of course), Anybody’s Game, and Long-Armed Ludy.

It’s a book that will you want you to lace on your hiking boots and head it outside.

Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Thermes (Abrams: 2018).

Picture of children surrounding a globe

Alyson Beecher hosts the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge at kidlitfrenzy.com. Visit there for more great nonfiction picture books!

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15Nov

Strong Women and Men

Posted by: annettepimentel@gmail.com Categories: Review
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I’ve been having fun gearing up for the release in February of my book about a remarkable female athlete, so it was fun this week to find other books about strong women and men.

Cover of Long-Armed Ludy shows a female athlete throwing a shot putLong-Armed Ludy is about the 1922 women’s shot-put world record holder, Lucile (Ludy) Godbold. I loved the folksy, fun-to-read-aloud voice in this book: “When Lucy set off for Winthrop Colleg ein 1917, she was six feet tall and skinnier than a Carolina pine. In fact, if she turned sideways, you’d think she had disappeared. But you could always spot Lucy on the athletic field…sprintin’…scorin’…cheerin’…supportin’…” The story tells not only of her remarkable athletic prowess but also of her struggle against poverty and how friends and classmates made it possible for her to attend the 1922 Women’s Games with their financial contributions. It’s a story with a lot of heart. We see Lucy practicing and working to perfect her skill, we see her sacrificing the chance to eat tasty French pastries, and we see her worrying about her capabilities. I loved learning about her!

 

Cover of Strong as Sandow shows a strong man flexing his armStrong As Sandow is set just a few years earlier and tells the story of Eugen Sandow and how he came to be the most famous strong-man on earth. The book is divided into sections, each headed by a bold-faced title that gives both the setting and the years. It’s a great way to help kids the structure of the book (and would help easily create class projects–giving groups of kids each a section of the book). I loved learning the story of how Sandow worked to develop his muscles, even when he faced parental displeasure and physical illness. Maybe my very favorite part of the book, though, was the back matter. There, Don Tate talks about the problems he faced in evaluating sources he used to research the book (Sandow was “a manufacturer of his own story”) and he tells his own personal story of how he became a weight-lifter. There’s a great photo of Sandow and an equally great one of Don Tate, the weightlifter. There is also, of course, a set of suggested exercises for kids.

Hooray for books about athletes!

Long-Armed Ludy and the First Women’s Olympics by Jean L. S. Patrick. Charlesbridge: 2017.

Strong as Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became the Strongest Man on Earth by Don Tate. Charlesbridge: 2017.

Children with book around a globe

I participate every Wednesday in the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge at Kid Lit Frenzy.

 

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